Ask Dr. Potato

I run a small burger and fry business in Nashville TN. We serve about 3200lbs a month of russet potatoes as fries. My produce suppliers have run out of Burbank russets for the year and are only able to supply me with a new-crop of Norkotah russets that are making awful, awful fries that I'm embarrassed to serve! We use a hot-water blanch to cook our 1/2" fries done in a dilute vinegar solution, followed by a 300 degree blanch fry that takes 8-10 minutes to remove most of the moisture. They're then frozen and stored, cooked 2 minutes at 350 degrees for sales. They come out mealy and sweet, not to mention tough, and they last about two minutes before they're basically awful, limp horrors. I've tried lowering the pre-fry temperatures and cooking them longer but I never want to see a Norkotah again... Would switching to a Kennebec or Ranger help until Burbanks come back? Is there some magic trick to cooking these abominations? Complaints are coming in from all directions and I'm in panic mode. Please help!

I own a restaurant and we serve stuffed baked potatoes. I need to be able to cook a good bit of potatoes and then hold them until ordered. What is the best way to do this without them getting dry?

I remember my grandparents storing fresh potatoes at home in a root cellar. I want to take advantage of the pricing and availability of having a ten pound bag of spuds at home for last minute menu choices but don’t know where to store the potatoes once I buy them. Any recommendations

I read your article about cooking large quantities of baked potatoes and putting them in a cooler to keep them hot. We do a fish dinner every year during Lent and cook about 250 potatoes a week for 6 weeks.  Do you have any data on how long it takes for the baked potatoes to reach 185 degrees F? We wrap (I know, I know) the potatoes and put about 30-35 potatoes on a full size sheet pan. We put in two racks per oven. Normally we set the commercial gas oven to 500 degrees F. Is it better to cook them at 400 degrees F?

We have a restaurant located in Mountain Home, Arkansas. We buy all of our restaurant needs from Performance Foodservice.  We are currently buying your potatoes (approximately 15 to 20 cases per week).  When our delivery comes (twice a week), our potatoes come in off the truck and appear to be in good condition, wet and cool from the humidity from a refrigerated truck.  The potatoes temp between 50-55 degrees.  It has been a very hot and humid summer here.  Today, for instance, our heat index are in the triple digits.  The potatoes appear to be solid and in good shape.  We bring them into the restaurant, we have a stored area under a window with a window air conditioner blowing right on them.  We immediately foil wrap about 3/4 of them and put them back under the window until the potatoes are used.  The air conditioner is set as low as it can go, but at times, it seems blows out warm-ish air.  We use the potatoes within a week.  When we take the potatoes over to start wrapping them, some of the potatoes have black spots on them (pictures attached).  Some that appear to be good are wrapped and stored but when cooked they turn to mush and stink.  We do cook them in foil.  We tried cooking them without foil but customers complained about them getting cold.  It does get very hot in the kitchen.  We have had to complain to our vendor on a weekly basis for the past 6-8 weeks.  Do you feel it is something on the vendor’s side or are we doing something wrong in our restaurant? Any information and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Why are potatoes generally sold in plastic bags rather than mesh ones (like onions)? It is my thought that they would store better.

We are doing a large potato bar for 600...after we bake the potatoes (no foil!), we would like to go ahead and fluff them and then wrap with foil. We thought they would be easier/faster to serve if they were already opened when the guest is at the buffet. Good idea? If so, how long will they keep? We have warmers/holding ovens.

I ordered several cases of potatoes and when they arrived, most of them were sprouting. What caused the potatoes to sprout so fast during shipping?

Our church is planning a potato bar to be served after our Ash Wednesday service. We are planning for 150 to 200 people. We do not have a commercial grade oven so we were wondering if we could put them in roasters. Would this work? Should they be wrapped in aluminum foil? How long would they need to be in roasters?

Would enhancing the description or playing upon the style of cooking or quality of ingredients help my baked potato sales? I do use Idaho Russet Burbank’s but on the menu it just lists as Baked Taters.